Robot Helps People Walk Again

Six months after doctors told him he would likely never walk again after a random accident at home, 49-year-old Chris Tagatac was back on his feet and taking steps, a feat that elated not only him, but also his family.

"The first thing I remember when I stood up... my mom just put her hand to her mouth and had this look her face, like, 'Amazing, I can't believe my son is walking again,' " Tagatac told Design News. He took 52 steps that day, giving him hope that he could defy the odds and once again regain the same active life he had before he was left paralyzed last year.

Tagatac didn't accomplish this feat on his own, however. He was walking with the help of Ekso, a wearable robot from a company called Ekso Bionics that consists of braces, sensors, and motors that anticipate people's movements and take steps for them.

The Ekso wearable robot helps people who can’t move their lower body take steps by anticipating their movements and making them for them.

Ekso is just one of a number of innovations in robotics designed to help people who've suffered paralysis and other spinal-cord and lower-body injuries get back on their feet and walk. The military is also experimenting with similar technology as a way to unburden soldiers from heavy loads, and a company in Israel called Argo Medical Technologies has developed a machine, called ReWalk, with a similar aim to Ekso.

In fact, the research to develop the former is how Ekso developed. The company's founders came up with the idea for the robot from a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency project to provide an exoskeleton to help soldiers carry very large loads. The trick was to develop technology that didn't use energy to carry the load, reserving it for other things, Nathan Harding, co-founder and chief project officer of Ekso Bionics, the manufacturer of the product, told us. "It's kind-of like the difference between a helicopter that's holding up the weight and using energy to do so and a table that's holding up the weight and using no energy to do so," he said.

Ekso engineers developed this technology in 2005 and later used it as the base to form their own company. While it's not this exact technology that's used in its wearable robot, Harding said the company did use the concept behind it to develop the robot that allows Tagatac and others walk in Ekso.

Moving muscles, not bones
Ekso's robot works by providing torque to people's joints at the knees, hips, and ankles. A patient moves into the device from a sitting position in a wheelchair, attaching braces made of aluminum, steel, titanium, and carbon fiber with Velcro to their legs and around their waist. Patients' feet go into bindings at the bottom similar to those on a snowboard, said Tagatac.

Yes, shehan, this is what I like most about covering these types of technologies. I am fortunate enough to have all of my limbs and to be in good health and I enjoy surfing nearly every day, so I can only imagine what it must feel like to not be able to do something you love so much, or even walk. So i think these are the types of technologies that companies with the money and expertise should focus more on, not on technologies for war. But that is just my opinion. That said, i am glad to see a military technology being used for something like this.

Thank you, Tim! Yes, it is amazing to think how quickly someone's life can change so drastically, and a good reminder for all of us, in whatever we're doing, to pay attention. Accidents beyond our control can always happen, of course, but many can be avoided. I enjoyed talking with Chris, the man in the article, because he had such a positive and determined outlook about his life even after his accident, and is handling his paralysis with grace and perseverance.

Thank you, Chuck. Yes, it seems more than practical for an exoskelton to be used in this manner and I'm glad Ekso has commercialized it. I'm sure a lot more can be done with the right investment in research and development.

I do have to agree with you, Mydesign, even though I appreciate shehan's comments and understand what the point is. But while sometimes someone with an amputation or with paralysis (the latter being the case in this story) may feel like their life has no meaning in their darkest times, I agree, it's simply not true. And people like Chris in the article, through the use of technology like Ekso, are showing how technology can help restore people's lives back to the way they were before they suffered paralysis or something that took away their ability to walk.

Excellent article. This technology looks like it has the potential to improve the lives of many people. Would be interesting to learn more about the algorithms for "commanding" motion and how easy it is for patients to adjust to the exoskeleton system. Thanks.

Agreed, Al. Much research effort has been invested in the idea of restoring the neurological use of lost limbs and, while that's important research, it's nice to see technologies that can offer solutions today, in our lifetime.

Yes mydesign, think about the disable people at the war, how many are there with disability after doing the lot of sacrifice for their countries. How nice if they can walk and joined to the work force again.

I, too, understand Shehan's viewpoint, Liz. Losing the use of our legs is a pain that most of us can't fathom. At the same time, though, meaningful life can definitely continue. A friend of mine lost the use of his legs after a shooting and he subsequently made it through law school. He's now a judge and one of the most amazing people I know. I'm proud just to know him.

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